Sir Charles Jones is known as the King of Southern Soul. Southern Soul, for the uninitiated, is a brand of Soul that encompasses a variety of deep Southern influences, most especially Blues and Gospel. There are a lot of artists you'd know who are considered Southern Soul (a Venn diagram would, frankly, be a mess), but I just point to Bobby "Blue" Bland as a perfect example. Southern Soul, also known as "Deep Soul", is all about the groove. It's smooth as silk and sexy as all hell. Southern Soul was huge in the 60s and early 70s, but got pushed aside during the Disco era and hasn't fully regained it's rightful status since, not nationally. But, in the South, the Southern Soul circuit is still huge, with artists largely making their living through a grueling schedule of playing a different town every night as many as 300 nights a year. The farther South you go, the bigger Southern Soul is.

Sir Charles was born in Ohio, but raised in Alabama from a young age. After others discovered his musical talent, Jones worked and toured with Marvin Sease for years. He credits Sease with teaching him about the business and encouraging him to seek a recording contract (his first efforts, with Marvin's own label Malaco, failed to win over the executives who felt he was too young to know the Blues). Jones released his eponymous debut album in 2001. His second album, "Love Machine", reached number 28 on the R&B charts (quite a feat considering it was on a small regional label), and his fourth, "Southern Soul Party", reached number 11 on the Blues charts. Jones was praised for his "sensuality and emotional heat". But, just as his career was taking off, Jones suffered a motorcycle accident in 2003. He was in a coma for several days and a full recovery took years. Returning to recording and performing in 2006, Sir Charles Jones has spent the last decade reclaiming his crown. "Christmas With The Family" is his first Christmas album and follows "The Masterpiece", which was issued earlier this year.

"Christmas With The Family" from Sir Charles Jones is, indeed, a family affair. We don't have any album credits to know which family members are doing what (except that "Christmas And You" would appear to be a duet with his Mom), but they're clearly a talented group.

There are no covers on "Christmas With The Family". Well, unless you count "Silent Night", which is loosely based on the old hymn. The Jones family borrowed a few of the lyrics but, otherwise, this is a sweet Southern Soul original. Clearly, my favorite is the Blues representative, "Santa Claus Is Home". "Holiday Lover" brings the mid-tempo Funk--it's got a nice shaggin' rhythm, so I suspect it'll be popular with the Beach Music crowd around here. "I Just Want You" does so in a more uptempo fashion. And I'm having a hard time thinking of another Soul Christmas ballad original to bring more Christmas love, nostalgia, and spirit than "Snowy White Christmas". "Christmas Tears" could be taken as a song lamenting a relationship break-up or the death of a significant other. Either way, Sir Charles Jones uses his voice to great effect; you can feel the heartbreak and your heart breaks with him. I'll grant you "Christmas With Louis Armstrong" is a bit of a throwaway, but it beats another over-cooked rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" by a mile. Watch, that'll turn out to be everybody's favorite.

In recent years, I've bought a lot of Southern Soul Christmas albums and I'm often disappointed. I dunno. Artists I otherwise enjoy just don't always seem to bring it on their Christmas albums the way they do on their non-holiday sets. Southern Soul is all about the groove. If the groove ain't there, you can throw in all the jingle bells you want and it isn't going to make a difference. And, if the groove is there, you don't need 'em. Sir Charles Jones just brings it on "Christmas With The Family". At times he calls to mind Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross, at others Tyrone Davis and Bobby "Blue" Bland, but he's always Sir Charles Jones. There might be a few more rough edges on his other albums (and I like rough edges), a little more Blues, a little more Funk, but the groove is most definitely there, the Soul flows like honey, smooth as satin sheets, and even on a family holiday affair, Sir Charles brings the "sensuality and emotional heat". I can think of any number of Soul artists I wish had given us a Christmas album as good as "Christmas With The Family". They didn't. Sir Charles Jones just did.

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